And yet, evidence of a stubborn refusal to play it safe abounds, most notably in the East Coast-bred, Toronto-based rock squad’s eponymous, electrifying new disc, The Trews. It tallies so many firsts that even band members Colin MacDonald, John-Angus MacDonald, Sean Dalton and Jack Syperek cop to being a smidge flabbergasted by their own achievements, 14 Top 10 Canadian radio singles (including two #1s) notwithstanding.
There is, first and foremost, the assured manner in which it was written (through the lens of real life), underwritten (by fan support) and recorded (super-fast alongside marquee producer Gavin Brown). Guests bring flourish – witness Serena Ryder’s smoky vocals on ‘In the Morning,’ a contemplative almost-ballad with lyrics co-written by singer/guitarist Colin MacDonald and his pal, songwriting dynamo Simon Wilcox and buoyed by cellist Anne Bourne’s melancholic accompaniment.
Add in the fact that of late the Trews have been piling up the accolades touring acoustically despite being certified rock brawlers and the net result is something you just don’t see every day: proverbial old dogs issuing some seriously new tricks.
“I think with every record, you are kind of re-applying for the job,” chuckles guitarist John-Angus MacDonald. “There are so many bands out there, so many good ones, the fact that we get to keep going is a privilege. And as much as you get better and wiser with your craft, you still have to be ear-to-the-ground competitive. There is pressure in that.”
There are also wicked-cool rewards in that, none greater than the Trews’ daring and wildly successful PledgeMusic campaign which offered their loyal fans coveted and highly unique access to the band and its recording process in exchange for financial backing.
Everything from Skype chats to drum lessons, lifetime guest list privileges to adding vocals and hand-claps in-studio to songs like ‘New King,’ ‘The Sentimentalist,’ ‘Age of Miracles,’ and ‘Under The Sun’ was snatched up by supporters during the roughly year-long PledgeMusic drive.
“It was so much fun bringing fans into the studio, putting 20 people around a microphone,” Colin MacDonald enthuses. “This whole campaign was a great way to have an even deeper connection with the people who have been supporting us all these years.”
Adds John-Angus MacDonald, “I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have some trepidation at the onset. But it was all about the fan experience. We got to tailor those pledges to what we thought our fans might like, and at the end of it, we got to make a record for fans while giving them access they couldn’t possibly have had otherwise.”
Of course, the whole PledgeMusic exercise would be academic if the Trews weren’t making freaking phenomenal rock and roll full of the hairpin stylistic turns you’d expect from four guys who’ve been playing together daily pretty much all their adult lives.
Take the new album’s blazing first single, ‘What's Fair Is Fair’ which Colin MacDonald describes as “A song I wrote about a relationship falling apart. Sometimes when you cross a line you can't come back.”
And then there is the quaking, spit-drenched ‘New King,’ a biting indictment of bullies on digital pulpits. “We were pissed off and we wrote a song about it. I mean, if you can’t use your rock and roll to tell somebody to go shove it,” John-Angus MacDonald howls, “what the hell good is it?”
At the other end of the sonic spectrum is ‘65 Roses,’ a song inspired by former Trews booking agent Paul Gourlie, who succumbed to Cystic Fibrosis last May at age 37. It is, says John-Angus MacDonald, an illustration of the band feeling comfortable turning the volume down thanks to their acoustic touring, and an example of the impact producer Gavin Brown (see Metric, the Tragically Hip, Billy Talent) had on the new disc.
“The song ‘65 Roses’ was originally presented as an upbeat and rollicking song but the subject matter is quite sad,” the guitarist confirms. “Gavin was really insistent on that song being played as an acoustic number without drums. He saw us performing at Paul’s memorial and I don’t think he would even consider it being anything else.”
Indeed, Brown brought a whole new way of working to bear when he gathered with the Trews – including long-time keyboardist Jeff Heisholt - last fall in their rehearsal space for pre-production before moving the show to Toronto’s Noble Street Studios for “a concentrated two-and-half week session with some additional recording in November, mixing in December and mastering in January,” Colin MacDonald recalls.
“Gavin takes awesome bands and makes them awesome-r,” the singer cracks playfully. “And I think with our band, self-production would be a one-way ticket to divorce. We all respect each other but it’s always good to have that sounding board. Gavin is a giant personality who works quickly with such precision. So we entered that orbit and it made for a really interesting time. I’d do it again tomorrow.”
“For us, working quickly is a function of having our material together,” John-Angus adds, noting that the group amassed some 30 songs between January and May 2013 despite all members “doing a lot of other things. Life was being lived, we were traveling, but I think that fed the writing.
“From there we went about arranging it and making it sound great in the studio which, in my opinion, is much easier than songwriting. With Hope & Ruin” – the Trews’ chart-topping 2011 release cut with Hip bassist Gord Sinclair – “we were writing and recording at the same time and that record took seven months. Taking a kind of church and state approach to writing and recording this time worked really well.”
“I think we are getting better at pinpointing when a song is good and when it’s not,” Colin MacDonald says. “That’s what happens when you make five albums and tour all the time – you can tell a timeless idea from one that rocks hard but gets old fast. If I have to sing these songs 200 nights a year,” he smiles, doubtless envisioning the Trews’ itinerary for the foreseeable, “I want them to be good.”
Stray
The Trews Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Spoken poorly all the time
Needing that one perfect line
To have it all make sense
And it hard to understand
You're doing everything you can
To see a format or a plan
And hours seem like days
After confessions and praise
When inhibition stays along
With thoughts of consequence
In a fit of inspiration
And too much information
With no hesitation
To get it off your chest
Here I am
And as always you
And as always you
Stray
As things start to settle
Talk to me on the level
You're a victim and a rebel
No matter what you wear
You had your soliloquy
And now you feel guilty
Now you feel silly
Real moments are so unfair
Here I am
And as always you
And as always you
Stray
Some days are meant to be
This sign from God to finally see
No crucifix starts to bleed
You only got your way
And perspective's creeping in
But it's fickle as the wind
And you're proud of all your sins
And everything you've had to say
And no one's seeing through ya
And you don't care, do ya?
This feeling has immune ya
You simply walk away
Preaching end of evolution
And counter revolution
You feel an absolution
And here you want to say
Here I am
And as always you
And as always you
Stray
The Trews's song Stray explores the complexities of love and relationships, and how hard it can be to find the right words to express oneself. The first verse speaks about the difficulty of finding the perfect words to describe love, as it is an awkward rhyme and hard to articulate. The second verse delves into the frustration of trying to understand love while feeling lost in one's own pretense. Confessions and praise lead to hours feeling like days, and inhibition and thoughts of consequence can hold one back. The chorus repeats the phrase "here I am and as always you stray," indicating the idea of drifting apart in relationships.
In the third verse of the song, things start to settle, and the singer addresses the listener as a victim and a rebel, no matter what they wear. They had their soliloquy, but now feel guilty and silly, realizing that real moments are so unfair. The fourth and final verse discusses perspective and pride, with a sense of satisfaction in having said everything that needed to be said. The singer admits that no one is seeing through them, but they don't care, as they walk away feeling a sense of absolution, believing that they have preached the end of evolution and counter revolution.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is an awkward rhyme
Love is a difficult and imperfect expression
Spoken poorly all the time
It's challenging to articulate love accurately
Needing that one perfect line
Searching for the right words to explain love perfectly
To have it all make sense
To comprehend love completely
And it's hard to understand
It's not easy to grasp the essence of love
You're doing everything you can
Trying your best to make sense of love
To see a format or a plan
Looking for structure or organization in love
But you get lost in your own pretense
Getting confused by self-imposed restrictions and false appearances
And hours seem like days
Time drags on when confessing your feelings and receiving praise
After confessions and praise
Following moments of vulnerability and admiration
When inhibition stays along
Restrictions and reservations linger
With thoughts of consequence
Considering the potential outcomes of your actions
In a fit of inspiration
Acting impulsively because of inspiration
And too much information
Sharing more details than necessary
With no hesitation
Without any reluctance
To get it off your chest
To express your emotions openly
Here I am
Present and available
And as always you
As usual, you're wandering
Stray
Wondering aimlessly
As things start to settle
When the situation is becoming more clear
Talk to me on the level
Be truthful and straightforward with me
You're a victim and a rebel
You're both oppressed and resistant
No matter what you wear
Regardless of your appearance
You had your soliloquy
You had your personal monologue about your feelings
And now you feel guilty
You regret what you said or did
Now you feel silly
Now you think it was foolish
Real moments are so unfair
Genuine moments can feel unjust
Some days are meant to be
Some days are significant
This sign from God to finally see
A message from the divine to understand something
No crucifix starts to bleed
There are no dramatic or supernatural signs
You only got your way
You achieved what you hoped for
And perspective's creeping in
A new viewpoint is developing
But it's fickle as the wind
It's unstable and liable to change
And you're proud of all your sins
You're unapologetic for your wrongdoings
And everything you've had to say
Everything you said or did
And no one's seeing through ya
Nobody is aware of your true nature
And you don't care, do ya?
You're indifferent about people's opinion of you
This feeling has immune ya
This emotion has desensitized you
You simply walk away
You leave without explanation or justification
Preaching end of evolution
Promoting the theory of the conclusion of development
And counter revolution
Opposing or resisting change
You feel an absolution
You experience a sense of forgiveness
And here you want to say
You have something to express
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Colin Kirk MacDonald, Edmond Gordie Johnson, Jack Kakon Syperek, John-Angus Callaghan MacDonald
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind